3551 
H86T5 



19 tl 




THOUGHTS 
IN RHYME 



Phipps 



\/ 




Class 

Book.- n^(o 15- 

Copight]J°_ J f / L 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



THOUGHTS IN RHYME 



THOUGHTS 

IN 

rhyme: 




B 



r 



Sarah h/letcalf Phipps 



New York 

1911 



THOUGHTS 
IN RHYME 



BY 

SARAH METCALF PHIPPS 



^ 



THE MASON-HENRY PRESS 

50 CHURCH STREET 

1911 



nil 



Hntr 



Copyright, 1911 
By SARAH METCALF PHIPPS 



.'a«f OFFICE 
MAY 16 191.? 



The MASON-HENRY Press 
Syracuse and New York 



feCI.A3l292l 



Contents 

Page 

The Spider Web . . . . i 
The Bird at My Window . . J 
Moonlight on the. Sea . . . 4 
The Patter of Rain ... 5 

Witch-Hazel . . , , 6 

The Ocean . . . . .8 

March Wind . . . .10 

My Sweethearts Bouquet . .11 

My Daffodil 13 

April ...... 14 

Jack-in-the-Pulpit . . . > 15 
Sunlight . . . . -17 

Orchard House . . . - IQ 



CONTENTS 



The Try sting Place 

The Tangle of the Trees 

The Water-Lily 

The Meadows 

To Alice 

The Waning of Summer 

Her Portrait 

"The Eternal Feminine** 

Moonlight 

Jewels . . . . 

September Days 

The Autumn Leaf 
October 
Autumn Days 
December 



. 21 

. 24 

. 26 

. 27 

. 29 

. 31 
. 30 

. 34 
. 36 
. 38 
' 41 
• 43 
' 45 
' 47 
. 49 



CONTENTS 



A Happy Christmas 


' 51 


The Vigil of New Years Eve . 


. 54 


Moods .... 


. 56 


Sad Heart 


• 57 


Cow-Bells 


. 5S 


Good-Bye 


. 59 


Who Knows? 


. 61 


Look Within 


. 62 



Dedicated to 

ONE I LOVE 

A. G. K. 



THOUGHTS 



The Spider Web 

The spider weaves, from hour to 

hour, 
An exquisite web by an occult 

power; 
^Neath a shady tree on a summer 

day 
I watch with wonder its mystic 

way. 

The lines intersect and form a part 
Of a cryptic plan, a work of art, 
Which fills the mind with admira- 
tion 
For a dainty, a fair, a deep crea- 
tion. 

Each thread in the web so skilfully 

wrought. 
With hidden purpose and meaning 

is fraught. 
The film,y texture, the fragile line. 
Unite and form a mystic sign. 



Ont 



THOUGHTS 



Ah! could we but weave a life so 

fine 
Where beauty is traced in every 

line 
And e en in our tears reflect the 

light 
That shines in dew on the web so 

bright. 

Like the spider we weave the web 

of fate 
^Tis well to know, though we learn 

it late, 
The glory or shame of life we 

spin 
From the Power, the Will, the 

Spirit within. 



Two 



THOUGHTS 



The Bird at My Window 



The sweetest bird 

I ever heard 
Sang at my window to-day 
A tender roundelay. 



On what he said 

After he fled 
I pondered deep and long: 
'Twas a sweet and plaintive song. 



Three 



THOUGHTS 



Moonlight on the Sea 

When o'er thy face the mobile 

moonbeams play 
The light of thy smile enchanting 

leads the way 
Into the rapture, the delight 
Of the silent, of the mysterious 

night. ... 
In the murmur of thy voice there is 

a luring stress 
That soothes and wraps the soul in 

tenderest caress, 
And as thou creepest near and 

nearer unto me, 
It is as though with yearning arms, 

oh! sighing sea, 
T^Jiou would'st my form enfold in 

passionate embrace. 
And all my being in thy charm 

enlace . . . . 
The spirit of love and night is 

whispering to me 
Of the weird and mystic beauty of 

moonlight on the sea. 

Four 



THOUGHTS 



The Patter of Rain 

I love the patter of rain, 

Of rain upon the roof; 
It soothes away dull pain 

And holds tired thought aloof. 



I feel a deep content. 

The heart revives again — 

With musings sweet is blent 
The sound of pattering rain. 



Five 



M 



THOUGHTS 



Witch-Hazel 

The witch-hazel broods in the au- 
tumn woods 
In a flood of sunshine mellow, 
Its branches forked with magic are 
fraught 
And tufted with flowers of 
yellow. 

Its leaves of green and reddish 
brown 
Upon the moist earth lie, 
But the subtle fragrance of the 
flower 
Is wafted to the sky. 

The witch-hazel thus, methought, 
it tells 

By its fine divining-rod 
Of the secret mystery of life 

In the wondrous plan of God. 



Six 



THOUGHTS 



The human form of earthly mould 
When it has served its day 

Like the fallen leaves returns to 
the sod 
In its own appointed way — 



But the essence rare, invisible, 

On its upward course is bent 
And the spirit of man ascends to 
God 
Like the flowe/s bewildering 
scent. 



Seven 



THOUGHTS 



The Ocean 

Words cannot paint the ocean 

blue 
With its shifting tints of tur- 
quoise hue, 
Sparkling here in the sunshine 

bright 
A sheet of shimmering, blinding 
light, 
While there, a stretch of darker 

shade 
Lies like a plain of dark green 
jade; 
Yet farther, a line of mist so thin 
A passing ship is traced therein, 

Sailing o'er deeps where the bil- 
lows roll 

Like passions that surge in 
man's wild soul. 



Eight 



THOUGHTS 



Turbulent, ceaseless, the sea^s un- 
rest 
Echoes deep down in the human 
breast. 
But beyond? beyond? in vain 

peers the eye, 
Beyond is the realm where mys- 
teries lie — 

Sailing through space so immeas- 
urably vast 
Into the Infinite Ocean at last. 



Nine 



THOUGHTS 



March Wind 

O! for the sweet March wind of 
the Southland! 

There to forget the region of 
snows, 

Careless how fiercely the North 
wind blows, 

Riots and swirls o^er ice-bound 
floes. .. . 
0/ for the balmy breeze of the 
Southland! 

In swaying pine-tops softly sigh- 
ing, 

Tenderly whispering of love un- 
dying. 

The soul in wistful sadness re- 
plying. 
In the dreamy, love-laden air of 
the Southland! 



Ten 



THOUGHTS 



My Sweetheart's Bouquet 

Sweet eyes as deep as gentian blue 
Whose depths the soul burns 

brightly through 
Where dwelleth a love both deep 

and true. 

Sweet lips as rich carnations red 
Tihat breathe the tender words 

once said — 
Kiss, that from memory ne^er has 

fled. 

Soft silky threads of streaming 

hair 
Wooing the breeze of the balmy 

air 
Like the flower of the ribbon grass 
flaxen fair. 



Eleven 



THOUGHTS 



The mind of a lily, the heart of a 

rose, 
Pansies the thought as it comes and 

goes 
Warming the cheek as it softly 

glows. 

Sweeter far and of fairer hue 

Is a flower that never in garden 

grew — 
I can not name it, but dear — 'tis 

you! 

Whatever betides or come what 

may , 
Sweetheart, for you Vve made the 

bouquet, 
A tribute of love forever and aye. 



Twelve 



THOUGHTS 



My Daffodil 

My precious flower! my daffodil! 
The pretty flower thou gavest 

me! 
With sweet and loving thoughts 
of thee 
My heart and pulses thrill, 

O! how much more it means to 
me! 
So commonplace in others^ 

eyes — 
To me J a dear and cherished 
prize, 
Because, my love, it tells of thee. 

The token of a happy hour 
Is my dear golden daffodil, 
Its chalices pure love distil. 

As with a kiss I press my flower. 



Thirteen 



THOUGHTS 



April 

ApriVs child is of sunshine and 

showers — 
(O! the caprice of happy hours!) 
A moment of pleasure, 
Joy without measure, 
All the world gleams 

Sun-flooded with beams — 
Then comes the rush of blinding 

rain 
And only the darkening clouds re- 
main! 

Life is not always tears and wiles. 
Life has its share of beams and 
smiles; 
Joys flit fast, 
Showers do not last. 
Clouds break away, 
Behold! the sun's ray — 
Buoying with hope — banishing 

fears 
The beautiful rainbow of promise 
appears. 

Fourteen 



THOUGHTS 



Jack-in-the-Pulpit 

J ack-in-the-Pulpit appears to-day 

And proclaims to all who come 
his way 

A sermon of love, a message of 
spring, 

Which Jack and all his compan- 
ions bring — 

Spring Beauty, Orchis, Anemone- 
Rue, 

Blushing Rhodora and Violet 
blue, 

And gay Wake Robin, while Ad- 
der's Tongue tells 

The tidings of spring: the glad 
note swells 

In throat of bird and song of brook 

Which hums and ripples through 
shady nook. 



Fifteen 



THOUGHTS 



All proclaim the season and hour 

Of joy and life for bird and flower. 

There in the midst of this multi- 
tude 

In quiet and placid dignity stood 

J ack-in-the-Pulpit — list! did he 
say 

In the promise of Spring would 
dawn a day 

Of hearfs delight and desire- 
come-true? 

I cannot believe it at all — 
Can you? 



Sixteen 



THOUGHTS 



Sunlight 

The day was gray, the sky was 
overcast, 
Trees, flowers, all forms in som- 
ber hue 
Stood forth as though by a cruel 
blast 
Blighted; but lo! heaven^s own 
kind blue 
Through a cloud-rift glimpsed — 
and then, at last! 
The splendor and glory of the 

sun broke through. . . . 
Alas, it brought deep shadows 
too! 

O wondrous Nature! by a law di- 
vine 
Sunlight and shadows make the 
perfect days; 



Seventeen 



THOUGHTS 



What radiant beauty when the 

sunbeams shine 
Through raindrops! when the 

sun^s bright rays 
The darkest cloud with silver line. 

Sunlight or shadows — heart- 
riven, astray, 
Nature reveals the perfect way. 



Eighteen 



THOUGHTS 



Orchard House 

The Home of Louisa M, Alcott 

At foot of the fragrant pine-wood 
hill 

There stands the little brown cot- 
tage still 

Where dwelt Louisa in days of 
yore, 

Louisa who penned enchanting 
lore. 

I walked the path her feet had 
trod 

Where wild flowers bloom in the 
verdant sod; 

I peered intent through the win- 
dow-pane 

And saw in fancy her form again 

Sitting serene in the ingle-nook, 

Where, mayhap, she wrote that 
book 

Which charmed the hearts of 
happy youth. 

Inspiring them all with love and 
truth. 

Nineteen 



THOUGHTS 



As my face pressed hard against 

the glass 
A waking dream there came to 

pass 
Of ''Little Women'' and ''Little 

Men''— 
God bless them all is my prayer: 

Amen! 



Twenty 



THOUGHTS 



The Trysting Place 

With folded arms that rest on the 
railing 
Of an old snake fence which bor- 
ders the woody 
Bathed in the sunlight of day thafs 
waning 
The tall lithe form of a maiden 
stood. 

A fair fresh flower j a child of na- 
ture, 
Of rustic strength and lovely 
mien, 
Part of the freshness and fragrance 
around her, 
With beauty and grace that are 
rarely seen. 



Twenty-one 



THOUGHTS 



The molded chin on the arm is 

resting, 
The soft brown hair is caressed 

by the breeze, 
The fawn-like eyes are dreamily 

gazing — 
/ wonder what charm in the air 

she sees! 

Is the young heart wakened to 
lovers quick throbbing? 
Does it feel the flutter of love's 
unrest? 
Ah! who can divine the secret pon- 
dering, 
The sweet dream hid in the pure 
young breast? 



Tvjenty-two 



THOUGHTS 



In the mood that broods in a per- 
fect stillness, 
Her ear expectant a sound has 
heard, 
With joy and a keen delight she 
listens 
To the notes of a wild and war- 
bling bird. 

But hark! the tread of a footstep 
is n earing — 
The secret flames in her radiant 
face — 
As her form in the arms of a 
youth's enfolded 
The kiss is claimed at the try st- 
ing place. 



Twenty-three 



THOUGHTS 



The Tangle of the Trees 

I lie and look through the tangle, 

The tangle of snaying trees, 
I watch the shimmering spangle 

Of sunlight on the leas. 
The stately elm and the willow 

Cast a cool and spreading shade 
And the green grass for a pillow 

Titania^s couch has made. 
Where branches interlace 

And sunbeams filter through 
I seein to see thy face 

And believe the vision true. 
Bits of deep blue skies 

Through half closed eyes I see 
And I fancy those dear eyes 

Are looking down on me. 



Tvaenty-fouT 



THOUGHTS 



Here and there meanwhile 

Are gleams of dancing light 
That are like the radiant smile 

That fills me with delight. 
I watch the flickering shadows 

That all around me play 
And through my memory flows 

Sweet thought of a bygone day; 
Through the boughs light breezes 
steal 

And my cheek is softly fanned. 
With ecstacy I feel 

The caress of thy dear hand. 
Thy presence fills the air. . . . 

Hark, how the wild bird trills — 
'Tis thy voice soundeth there 

And all my being thrills! 
O! is the vision true 

Or is it only seeming? 
Doth my heart but picture you? 

And am I only dreaming? 



Tvsenty.five 



THOUGHTS 



The Water-Lily 

The lily hideth fold in fold 
Of petals pure a heart of gold; 
What sweetness in her breast con- 
cealed! 
What loveliness to be revealed 
By the magic touch of the sun^s 

bright ray, 
By the warm embrace of the God 
of Day! 

Like love thafs hid, not yet 

exprest, 
Nor yet awake in the maidens 

breast — 
But lovers sweet pledge shall be 

fulfilled 
And her heart of love be stirred 

and thrilled, 
Yes, steeped in a golden rapturous 

bliss 
By the mystic power of a lover's 

kiss. 

Twenty-six 



THOUGHTS 



The Meadows 

Beautiful meadows with ricks of 

hay! 
Sight of you carries me far away 
Into a land of enchanting dreams 
Caroling birds and the hum of 

streams. 
Gazing and wond'ring with wist- 
ful eyes, 
Longing, perchance, for a glad 

surprise/ 
Blossom of hope and of hearfs 

desires. 
Land of delight where one never 

tires! 
Moving in cycles, O restless soul, 
Can you ever attain that happy 

goal? 
Or is fate like words which, alas! 

suggest 
Only the shadow of all that's best. 



Twenty-seven 



THOUGHTS 



Wandering heart, come back — do 

not stray — 
For here and now we^ll have our 

play 
Roving in meadows with ricks of 

hay. 



Twenty-eight 



THOUGHTS 



To Alice 

On Her Thirteenth Birthday 

Just thirteen happy years ago 
When the earth was white with its 

cover of snow 
And the air was filled with ringing 

chime 
Of the blessed, joyful, Christmas 

time — • 
Into the world came a baby child 
With eyes like stars, yet blue and 

mild. 
Then grew she into a little maid 
And all that ever can well be said 
Could never tell of the bonny grace 
That shone in that dear and dainty 

face. 
Now time has led with loving 

hand 
Through childhood^ s sunny fairy- 
land 



Twenty-nine 



THOUGHTS 



That little maiden pure and good 
Into the realm of womanhood. 
A tender message wings its way 
To wish all joy to her glad birth- 
day. 
Adieu, dear child, for now His 

mete — 
The winsome little woman to 
greet. 



Thirty 



THOUGHTS 



The Waning of Summer 

Now that summer is on the wane 

The smooth false foxglove blooms 
again; 

The flowers of the blazing star ap- 
pear 

And I feel that autumn is very 
near. 

How brief the days of August 

grow, 
How quickly they glide into sunset 

glow! 
The breath of summer lingers still, 
Howbeit the twilight air is chill. 

We^ve come, alas! to the parting 

ways, 
Adieu must bid to summer days, 
* From their beauty and pleasure as 

loth to part 
As lover true from, fair sweetheart. 

Thirty-one 



THOUGHTS 



But lovers bright spell and summer 

must pass 
Like shadows that flit and dance 

o^er the grass, 
With autumn leaves the grass is 

strewn, 
The rapture of summer is gone — 

so soon. 

Good-bye, sweet summer! — be- 
hold, I see 

How the goldenrod leans upon the 
lea. 

The purple aster is waving there 

And I know that autumn is in the 
air. 



Thirty-two 



THOUGHTS 



Her Portrait 

Are you truly all you seem — 

A thing of beauty, a lovely dream? 

All that your face and form sug- 
gest 

Of inner beauty, the highest and 
best? 

A beauty of soul beyond compare 

Which has of love a bounteous 
share? 

Standing so straight, so gracefully 
posed, 

With a far-off look in the eyes 
half-closed, 

With a lurking smile as in dream 
half -glad 

Or in r every sweet though some- 
what sad . . . . 

Such beauty reveaVd in the mortal 
mold — 

Can spirit a form more divine un- 
fold? 

Thirty-three 



THOUGHTS 



''The Eternal Feminine 



99 



The sea! the sea! the beautiful sea! 
She can both fair and treacherous 
be. 
She lures with her charm 
Concealing all harm — 
But beware! mayhap there is dan- 
ger for thee. 

The sea, like fair woman, is often 

capricious 
And though her embraces be soft 
and delicious 
And her radiant smile 
Doth sweetly beguile, 
'Neath beauty enchanting lurk 
forces pernicious! 



Thirty-four 



THOUGHTS 



With face so lovely and mien so 

true 
Can treachery lurk in the sea so 
blue? 
Alas! woe betide 
If a heart should confide 
In an element subtle and volatile 
too! 

In nature '^the eternally woman' s^^ 

the sea; 
Every day, every hour, her moods 
disagree, 
With a smile, with a frown, 
She can drag a soul down. 
To the depths of unfathomed 
misery. 



Thirty-five 



THOUGHTS 



Moonlight 

There is witchery in the moon- 
light, 
There is love in the languorous 
air; 
It stirs a longing in my heart 
That is more than I can bear. 

As I sit alone and listen 

To the whispering of the leaves 
I feel they know my secret 

And how my spirit grieves. 

Their soft sweet agitation 
Breathes a sentiment akin 

To the dream of bliss and longing 
That thrills my heart within. 



Thirty-six 



THOUGHTS 



In charmed suspense I ponder 
On the sweetness of the dream, 

On the music of the tree-tops. 
On the murmur of the stream,, 

O! the mystery of the moonlight! 

It has wrought a magic spell 
In the air and rustling leaves. 

And in my heart as well. 



Thirty-seven 



THOUGHTS 



Jewels 

To A. G. K, on Her Eighteenth Birthday 

Jewels I bring for thee to wear, 
Jewels to deck thy bonny brown 

hair; 
A pearl of rainbow tint to rest 
And lightly lie on the fair young 

breast; 
A ring of sparkling sapphire blue 
Thy finger to grace with its lovely 

hue; 
Rubies of bright and tender red 
Like drops of love from a heart 

that's bled, 
Beautiful jewels to adorn thee ai- 
rway — 
Love-thoughts to brighten thy fete 
to-day! 



Thirty-eight 



THOUGHTS 



Remember, dear, there are jewels 
rare 

Of priceless worth and far more 
fair 

Than any that dazzle the outward 
eye, 

Jewels that deep in the kind heart 
lie; 

Exquisite workmanship wrought 
by art 

Vies not with gems, the gems of the 
heart. 

Adorn d with these all thy pres- 
ence bright 

Goodness diffuses, aye, joy and de- 
light. 

Illumines the world with a loving 
thought — 

Life with kindness and beauty is 
fraught. 



Thirty-nine 



THOUGHTS 



Cherishing inwardly love without 
measure^ 

This is, indeed, the jewel to treas- 
ure, 

This brings the rapture of heaven 
so near 

That we live in a paradise, now 
and here! 



Forty 



THOU G H T S 



September Days 

The air is filled with a purple 
mist, 

The sun is veiled in haze, 
I close my eyes and dream, away 

The soft September days. 

Delicious languor fills the soul 
With a sense of things remote, 

And through the lulled and 
drowsy brain 
Vague sweet memories float. 

On brown and tawny grass I lie. 
On grass that once was green. 
And I muse on the summer glory 
gone, 
On the beauty that once has 
been. 



Forty -on t 



THOUGHTS 



On the song of birds that now has 
ceased^ 
The fair and sunny weather, 
The pleasant walks, the tender 
talks. 
That we have had together. 

And my heart doth ask the ques- 
tion sad, 
^^Does nothing in life endure?'^ 
A love so deep, so true as ours. 
There's nothing in life more 
sure! 

But whispering through all in this 
world of time 
Is the sigh — ^^we pass away^^ — 
For all things change, alas! and 
pass 
Like the misty September day. 



Forty-two 



THOUGHTS 



The Autumn Leaf 

In the mellow autumn days there^s 
a feeling in the air 

As of longing and of sadness^ one 
that borders on despair. 

But, sad heart, why must you sor- 
row? 'neath the fallen leafs 
decay 

Sweetly sleeps the hidden promise 
of a brighter, happier day 

In the glorious budding spring- 
time; under nature's rule and 
reign 

All in due time, after rue time 
comes the joyous spring again. 

Symbol is the autumn leafage — 
symbol every tree and flower 



Forty-three 



THOUGHTS 



Of the change thafs wrought in all 

things at the true appointed 

hour. 
Sweetly, safely, all reposes in the 

heart of Mother Earth: 
Patience! all shall live hereafter, 

in the beautiful new birth! 



Forty -four 



THOUGHTS 



October 

The blue smoke fills the October 
air, 

The charrd scent wanders every- 
where 

Of burning heaps of autumn 
leaves; 

Stripped of their crowns the grand 
old trees 

Stand grim with naked arms out- 
flung 

And wail for the glory from them 
wrung: 

List to the mournful wind and 
hear 

A requiem for the dying year! 



The flowers are faint and fade 

away 
In the fragrance of a bygone day ; 



Forty -five 



THOUGHTS 



Through the blue mist a sound is 

heard 
The farewell note of a lingering 

bird, 
Lacking alas! the happy ring 
And joyous carol of birds in 

spring. . . . 
Now J ^tis the music of memories 

sad, 
Refrain of a song that once was 

glad. 



Mournful to see around us lying 
Tokens and signs of decay and dy- 
ing — 
Yet nothing can die, for like to the 

sun 
When its appointed course is run 
It vanishes only to rise again 
In other-where worlds, beyond 

our ken: 
Our cherished bonds though death 

may sever 
Love and life endure forever. 

Forty-six 



THOUGHTS 



Autumn Days 

The golden autumn days — 
What shadows deep they cast I 

They waken memories dear 
Of happy years long past. 

The summer days have fled 

With all their warmth and 
glow, 
The flowers of brilliant spring- 
time, 
The joys of long ago. 

With all the musing sad 

On things that might have been, 
There's hid some thought of cheer 

The heart has locked within. 

We find, when we have reached 
Life's downward sloping path. 

Long shadows on the grass. 
And life's long aftermath. 



Forty-seven 



THOUGHTS 



Then come the days to glean 
The harvest of our years, 

The fruit is bitter-sweet 
Of joy, regret and tears. 

But when the winter comes 
To spread its shroud of snow 

And autumn glory^s gone 

The way that all things go — 

What matters it at last? 

Lifers span is spent, we say — 
AlVs laid beneath the snow, 

All gone, the golden day! 



Forty-eight 



THOUGHTS 



December 

Ah love! do you remember 

That bright warm day in May? 
Long years ago, so far away — 
That first sweet kiss? 
(O, dream of bliss!) 
But now — it is December. 

Dear love, do you remember? 
Through the hawthorne lane we 

strayed, 
The words you whispered, the 
vows we made — 
The years between 
That intervene? 
For now — it is December. 

My love, we both remember 
That youth's sweet dream is 
past, 



Forty-nine 



THOUGHTS 



But 0/ the love of the heart 
doth last 
Into the shade 
Of the twilight made 
By the cold and bleak December. 



Fifty 



THOUGHTS 



A liappy Christmas 

What means the joyous peal of 

bells? 
What wondrous story the chiming 

tells? 
'Neath mistletoe, holly and Christ- 

mas green 
Does the heart the sacred lesson 

glean? 
In glad receiving and gladder giv- 
ing 
Is there really the spirit of love 

and of living? 
Mayhap in festivities gay and wild 
Is forgotten the tale of the dear 

Christ-child. 

His was the gift of sacrifice 
That would make of our world a 
paradise; 



Fifty -one 



THOUGHTS 



A Christmas tree in your heart let 
grow 

That will bear a love-token for all 
below, 

Some sacrifice made, some service 
given, 

Some good to others for which you 
have striven — 

This is the spirit, this is the gift, 

Whereby you may many a soul up- 
lift. 

Thus may the season of Christmas- 
tide 

Bring love and light that truly 
bide. 

Bring songs of praise and joyful 
sounds 

Which follow where heartfelt love 
abounds. 



Fifty -two 



THOUGHTS 



Bring ^^ peace, good will to man on 

earth/' 
The air will then be filled with 

mirth, 
A Happy Christmas! will he 

found 
And echoed all the world around. 



Fifty-three 



THOUGHTS 



The Vigil of New Year's Eve 

When eer I think of thee, dear 
heart, 
Whose life went out in giving 
birth 
To that sweet image, thy counter- 
part . . . 
In the smile that breaks in dim- 
pled mirth 
O'er her face, so winsome and so 
fair. 
In eyes so tender, true and mild. 
In the sunlight of her rippling 
hair. 
In the face and form of thy own 
dear child 
Thou livest again: I seem to see 
In the flickering fire through 
blinding tear 
A vision, vivid and bright, of thee. 
And thy presence seems so near 
— so near! 

Fifty -four 



THOUGHTS 



Thus as my midnight vigil I keep 
Of the dying year, of the fading 
flame, 
I ponder on death^s mysterious 

sleep . ... 
But hark! the pealing bells pro- 
claim 
A new born child to Father Time! 
And a note of joy drives back 
the tear: 
^^Life is in death'* sounds in the 
chime 
That ushers in — New Year. 



Fifty five 



THOUGHTS 



Moods 

What means this sigh and sadness? 

One moment bright and gay — 
Then quickly flies all gladness 

To gloomy thoughts a prey. 

A sunbeam through the curtain 

Reflects elusive light, 
Its ray is most uncertain; 

Cloud-chasedj it soon takes 
flight. 



Fifty-six 



THOUGHTS 



Sad Heart 

Oh sad and sorrowing heart, 
Why sit alone and apart? 

There is work in the world for 
you 

Which sadness unfits you to do. 

Lifers suffering, turmoil and din 
Are wrought through selfish sin; 
There is so much self in sadness 
And sweet sacrifice often in 
gladness. 

Oh sad and hungry heart. 
How selfish and erring thou art! 
To lose one's life is to gain 
All the sweetness and love that 
remain. 

Only in following faster 
The sacred word of the Master, 
Service for others giving — 
This is the joy of living. 

Fifty-seven 



THOUGHTS 



Cow-Bells 

At eventide when e^er I hear 
The cow-bells tinkling far and 

near 
I fell the lure — the strange sweet 

spell 
That's wrought by the chime of the 

tinkling bell. 
With yearning is my spirit 

fraught, 
Tinged with sadness all my 

thought — 
Eyes tear-laden — and I weep 
While the shadows round me 

creep — • 
I feel the lure, the sweet, strange 

spell 
Wrought by the charm of a lowly 

bell. 



Fifty-eight 



THOUGHTS 



Good-Bye 

A good-bye sigh 
A tearful eye — 
The sun still shines hut the world 

is drear; 
Alas, how void — thou art not 

here! 

The days were gay 
And sped away^ 

Too fleeting, too swift were the 

days of yore — 
The hours are now twice twenty - 
four. 

'Tis sad to part. 
Oh lonely heart, 

Life was once radiant with joy 
and light. 

But now o^er all is darkest night. 



Fifty -nine 



THOUGHTS 



Behold! afar 
A beaming star 

That gleams with hope! for a 

while we part, 
But love abides for aye, dear 
heart! 



Sixty 



THOUGHTS 



Who Knows? 

What voice in my heart is calling 
Down the long vista of years 

Awaking a sadness and longing — 
The eyes all tears? 

A far-off echo of ages 

Of a life thafs been lived be- 
fore: 
A book of unwritten pages, 

A blank — nothing more. 

Is the heart to its influence heir? 

The pain, the sorrow, the bliss. 
All the burden that now we 
bear . 

The key, now, to this? 

In future estate supernal 

Will spirit the secret disclose? 
Ah the mystery of life eternal! 

Whence — whither — who knows? 

Sixty-one 



THOUGHTS 



Look Within 

The light within us, nigh and 

nig her, 
Will lead us upward high and 

higher: 
The light that lures us in the star 
We need not seek it from afar. 



Sixty-two 



JAN 19 I9I2 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Oct. 2009 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

ilillllllliliilliil 

015 937 570 5 




M 



^^'ili 






■ik 




